Apparatus for unloading vessels.



Patented May. 20, I902.

- c. H. WOODRUFF.

APPARATUS FOR UNLUADING VESSELS.

. (Application filed Nov. 27, 190;.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I Ji l/672202 W uyfforaeys No. 700,200. Patented May 20, 1902.;

' A c. H. 'woonnurr.

APPARATUS FOR UNLOADING VESS ELS.

(Application file'd Nov. 27, 1901.)

(No Model.) 2 shunts-Sheet 2.

'w'mm-r A 7 4 Jr 5w lime??? v jg w W v THE Nonms PETERS 0a.. piQTO-umm. WASHINEYON: n. c. I

a such as ironlore, coal,'&c.-

UNITEl) STAT-Es PATENT Q cvRus WOODRUFF, on BUFFALO, N'E O' APPARATUMSWF'QR,UNLOADING v .5aspars $PEGWIGATION forming p (if wes Patent No. 700,280, dated May 20,19 2;

ApplicationfiledNovember27,1901. SerialNo.83,859. (NoinodeL) T0 all whom iii-inlay concern: l Be it known that I, CYRUS H.WO0DRUFF,- citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the countyof Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful -'Im.--

provements in Apparatus for Unloading Vessole, of which the-following is a specification. This inven'tionrelates to the construction of vessels and the devices"employedforunloading cargoeswhich are shippedin In the ordinary methods of discharging vessel-cargoes manual labor' is employed to a large extent, and the unloading of large freight-carriers, such as -havecome into use in recent years, especially on the Great Lakes, is therefore a comparatively slow and expensive operation. I

The object of my invention is to provide such vessels with improved unloading devices which dispense largely with manual labor and greatly expedite the discharge of the cargo and which at thesaine time avoid interference with or encroachment upon the cargo-space of the-vessel.

In the accompanyingfdrawings,consisting of two sheets,Figure 1 is a h'orizontal section of a propeller con ta'iningmy invention- Fig. 2 is a cross-section, on an gen larged scale, in line 2 2, Fig. 1. I Fig. 3 is a-longitudinal section of a bargeequipped with the improvement, the plane of the section being 'on one? side of the keel. Fig. 4is a longitudinal section of a propeller containing am odifiedconstruction of the discharge conveyer or car rier. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of'the construction shown in Fig.4. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse section,--onan" en- Fig. 8 is a transverse section' showing an- I I ertu res'of the hopper-bottoms C, respectively,

other arrangement of the carrier;

in the several figures.

The hull of the vessel 'is of modernap.

cargo-carrying capacity of the vessel, and the arrangement of the'unloading devices there-g [gj ,in, as hereinafteriset forth, doesnot encroach,

Like letters of reference refer to likeparts 1 ,S&ll16. Each of these tunnels is formed by a B indicates the mainkeeh'arranged centrally in the water-bottom'and extending from by the main bottomB'of the vessel and the top by the auxiliary or secondary 'bottom B t jthe mainbottomto the ,secondary bottom. This water-bottom is Icustomarilyfilled with Wat-er ballast when the vessel runs without;

cargo or with a light load and can be emptied when the vessel carries a cargoof ore or the like; It-acco'rdingly forms" no part of the ion said carrying capacity -Invthe portion of-the hold directly above the top B of the water-bottom are arranged a number of longitudinal hoppers O or receptacles with hopper-bottoms,'which form the bottom of the hold and which'm'ay ex tend throughout the available stowage-space 1 e In a propeller they may extend from the bowback to the engine. I I

of the hold, if desired.

and boiler room, as shown in Fig.) 4, while in =a-barge or similar sailing vessel they may extend practically from how to stern. The

holdFpreferablyh'as two of .such hopper-bot;-v

toms, one on each side of'the keel, as shown; fin-Fig.--;2. The .inclined bottoms of these.

hoppers arestiffenedbybraces O. The hold and'its hoppers are designed to contain the iron ore-or othermaterial in bulk, and the hopper-bottoms are provided in their lowest portionsthroughout their le'ngthwith deliv-' cry-apertures d, closed by suitable gatesor slides d, which are preferably accessible from thewater-bottom and provided with handlesi or other suitable contrivances for'operating them Referring to the forinof theinvention shown in-Figsal and 2, E E indicate discharge tunnels' o r passages arranged lengthwise in the water-bottom directly under the delivery-a9 and extending throughout the length of the ,pair 'of parallel walls 6, which .are suitably secured to the main and secondary bottoms B B These tunnels extend through the bow of the Vessel, at oppositesidesxthereof and above the water-line, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, e

and 4, and for this purpose the portions of the tunnels in the how are inclined, so as to rise to the proper height, as shown. As'seen in Fig. 1, the tunnels are connected at their rear ends by a transverse passage E which forms, with the longitudinal tunnels E E, a continuous tunnel, comprising an entrance branch and areturn or exit branch. The tunnel is provided in its bottom with longitudinal tracks, upon which run conveyer-cars or carriers F, which are adapted to receive the ore or other cargo from the hoppers of the hold and convey the same to a dock or other desired place of deposit. The empty conveyer-cars enter one branch of the tunnel and after being loaded return through its other branch, the cars entering and leaving the vessel at the bow when the tunnel has a return branch, as shown in Fig. 1.

To meet the varying conditions of the water-level, the dock at which the vessel is unloaded is provided with a vertically-adjustable extension G,which may beraised and lowered by any suitable apparatus. This extension has a V-shaped recess g for receiving the bow of the vessel in order to bring the same closely to the dock. The dock extension is also provided with tracks, which form continuations of those in the tunnel of the vessel when the dock extension is adjusted to the proper level, and the stationary part of the dock has similar tracks, which extend to the place of deposit.

The conveyer-cars may be drawn through the tunnel by a locomotive or other suitable means, and any appropriate or available motive power-as steam, compressed air, or electricitymay be employed for this purpose. The conveyor-cars are preferably run in Trains, as shown in the drawings, and in this case the spaces between the cars are covered by roof-like shields II, which direct the descending material into the cars and prevent it from falling between the same.

The port-holes in the bow, which form the entrance and the exit of the tunnel, are ordinaril y closed by suitable doors.

In unloadinga vessel constructed according to my invention after properly mooring the vessel and adjusting the movable dock G the inlet and exit doors of the tunnel are opened, and a train of conveyer-cars is run from the dock into the tunnel. The cars are loaded by opening the delivery-slides d of the hopper-bottoms O and after receiving their load are returned to the dock through the exit of the tunnel. If desired, the material may be allowed to flow continuously from the discharge-hoppers into the cars and the latter loaded without stopping'them, the train of cars, with the shields 11, forming practically a continuous receptacle.

By this improved system the vessel is expeditiously unloaded without manual handling of the cargo and With the employment of only such manual labor as is required to operate the cars and the delivery-slides of the discharge-hoppers. The expense of unloading the cargo is thus materially lessened,

permitting the carrying rates to be reduced in a corresponding measure, while the detention period of the vessel in port is diminished accordingly, thus enabling the boat to make a greater number of trips in a season.

By the use of the hopper-bottom C the material in loading the vessel is evenly distributed on opposite sides of the same and at the same time leveled, thus doing away with the necessity of trimming.

The cars may be of the dumping type and constructed to dumptheir load either at the bottom or the side, and after leaving the turn nel they may be run up an inclined trestle and their load dumped into railway-cars or other transfer-carriers.

The tunnel is comparatively narrow, and as it is located almostwholly in the waterbottom it does not reducethe stowage capacity of the boat. Its walls extend throughout the height of the waterbottom and form struts which stiffen the keelson and adjacent frame members, this feature being especially desirable in fiatrbottom boats, such as are used on the Great Lakes.

Hy improvement is applicable to barges and other sailing craft as well as propellers, and when applied to such vessels one or more discharge-tunnels E" may extend in a straight line from bow to stern, as shown in Fig. 3.

In this construction the ends of the tunnels are inclined, so as to rise to asuitable height above the water-line both at the bow and the stern of the boat, and the oonveyer-cars enter the tunnels at the bow and leave the same at the stern, or vice versa. In this case the dock may be built with apocket orrecess for receiving the vessel, so that the empty ears may be run from one wing of the dock into the tunnels and after being loaded be delivered upon the other wing, or a pontoon may be placed at one end of the boat, if desired. When a dock with such a pocket is employed, the same may be provided with a movable platform I, mounted on a carriage I, which runs upon tracks on the dock. This permits the platform to be adjusted to suit vessels of different lengths.

The tunnel-walls 6, like the main keel 13, form part of the rigid and permanent bottom structure of the vessel and strengthen the same to such an extent as to permit the vessel to be safely built of greater beam and larger capacity.

If desired, any other suitable carrying or conveying devices may be employed in place of the cars F. For instance, an endless horizontal conveyor-belt F may be used, as seen in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, which show such belts in two independent discharge-tunnels of a propeller; These belts run around main guiderollers ff at their receiving and discharge ends and over intermediate supporting-rollers f In this modification of the improvement the conveyor-belts extend from the rear ends of the tunnels to the bow of the vessel, and at the latter point the material is dis- Figs. 4 and 5.

charged upon a chute J, which in turn deliv ers the material upon an endless deliverybelt K, arranged upon the dock, as'shown in The conveyer-belts in the tunnels of the vessel may be either fiat, as shown in the last-mentioned figures ,or troughshaped, as shown at F in Fig. '7.

In some cases it may be desirable to arrange a single discharge-tunnelin the waterbottom along the center of the vessel, as shown at E in Fig. 8, in which case the tunnel is extended from a point near the stern to the bow, the tunnel being forked at the bow to form two branches, one for the entrance v and the other for the exit of the conveyerdesired, the plates forming the inclined hopper-bottoms may be removably supported on their braces, so thatthey can be removed and the cargo allowed to rest directly upon the top of the water-bottom. This construction permits the vessel to carry grain and similar light material, as well as heavy cargoes.

The tunnels may be filled with water for water ballast, if necessary.

It will be observed that in all the embodiments of the invention herein. described one or more discharge-tunnels are arranged in the water-bottom underneath the hold for the passage of conveyer-oars or other carriers into which the superposed material in the hold is dumped through its bottom.

I claim' as my invention- 1. A vessel having its hold provided in its bottom with discharge-openings, gates apvalved openings in plied to said openings, a permanent secondary bottom arranged between the bottomof the hold and the main bottom of the hull and forming with the latterbottom an intervening water-chamber,a tunnel or tunnels arranged in saidwater-chamber underneath said discharge-openings, and a discharge conveyer or conveyers arranged to pass through said tunnel or tunnels, substantially asset forth.

2. A vessel having its hold provided with a hopper-bottom containing discharge-openings, gates applied to said openings, a per manent secondary bottom arranged between a said hopper-bottom and the main bottom of the hull and forming with thelatter an-intervenin g water-chamber, walls or partitions extending lengthwise through said water-chamber on opposite sides of said discharge-openings, and forming a discharge tunnel or tunnels, said tunnel or tunnels havingan in-- clined end portion whichrises above the water-line and opens through the end of the vessel, and a conveyor or conveyors arranged in said tunnels, substantially as set forth.

3. A Vessel having its hold provided with a hopper-bottom containing discharge-openings which are located on oppositesides of the keel, gates applied to said openings,a permanent secondary bottom arranged between said hopper-bottom and the main bottom of.

the hull and forming with the latter awaterchamber, a main central keel extending throughout the height of said water-chamber, one or more pairs of wallsarranged on opposite sides of said keel and extending-from the main to the secondary hull-bottom and forming discharge-tunnelasaid tunnels being located underneath the discharge-openings of thehopper-bottom, and conveyors arranged in said tunnels, substantially as setforth.

Witness my hand this 23d day of November, 1901.

CYRUS H. WOODRUFF.

Witnesses:

. THEO. L. POPP,

CARL F. GEYER. 

